In late June, the Japanese ministry of defense made its initial request for information on next-generation jet fighters from manufacturers, kickstarting the long process of replacing the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force’s Mitsubishi F-2 multirole fighters with a new “F-3.”
But as Tokyo looks to counter an increasingly sophisticated Chinese air and naval threat, none of the existing aircraft that are currently available for purchase seems likely to fit Japan’s needs.
What Japan really wants is the American F-22.
Legally barred from buying that plane, Japan’s likely next-best option is to design and manufacture a new stealth fighter entirely on its own.
It’s a weighty decision with huge implications.

Farnborough, UK — The F-35 program is not immediately changing based on Canada's recent decision to reevaluate its purchase of the fighter, senior program and defense officials said at the Farnborough Air Show.
Pentagon acquisition, technology, and logistics chief Frank Kendall, at a Monday press conference to discuss the program's progress, said there's "no rule" that says Canada must be stripped of its workshare if it withdraws from the program.
However, if Canada actually opts to do so, it will likely be a topic for the other international partners to "talk about."
Broadly, workshare, which is determined by prime contractor Lockheed Martin, is "permanent until it's not the 'best value' arrangement," Kendall said.
If Canada does pull out, no existing contracts would be stopped, but new ones would have to be looked at much more carefully, he said.
Canadian industries hold about $750 million worth of F-35 contracts, and stand to make more than 10 times that if the program produces at already-agreed on levels.
Canada is reportedly looking at replacing its aging F/A-18 fleet with newer F/A-18 Super Hornets or possibly holding a competition.
Kendall emphasized, however, that in addition to being the most advanced fighter available, the fifth generation F-35 will also be available at a price competitive with generation four-plus fighters.
In 2018, the target unit cost for the conventional takeoff model is $85 million.
Kendall acknowledged, however, that taking out Canada's jets could affect the unit price because the price is dependent on "economies of scale."
It's all premature, however, Kendall said.
Canada "will make their decision in their own time."

A group of Republican lawmakers is pressing the White House to approve long-delayed fighter jet sales to Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar and open up about why it has taken so long.
The sales have been pending for more than two years, but the White House has not yet allowed them to move forward.
The hold-up has been linked to Israel’s concerns that its qualitative military edge (QME) — which it is US policy to protect — would be eroded if its neighbors obtained the jets.
Members of Congress are likely to have concerns of their own about the repercussions of such sales for the region.

Saab has submitted a proposal to Indonesian authorities to supply its JAS 39 Gripen multirole fighter aircraft to meet the air combat requirements of the Indonesian Air Force (TNI-AU), Peter Carlqvist, head of Saab Indonesia, has confirmed to IHS Jane's .
Carlqvist said that the proposal is flexible over the version of Gripen aircraft that can be supplied to the TNI-AU but that the company remains "100%" committed to meeting Indonesia's requirements for localised industrial participation.
The proposal was submitted earlier this year, although Carlqvist said the company is still waiting for the formal bidding process to commence.

The Canadian government has issued a request for information from aerospace firms about the types of fighter aircraft they could provide, a signal that an earlier proposal to acquire Boeing Super Hornet jets on an interim basis is likely dead.
When the Super Hornet proposal first surfaced in early June, Lockheed Martin launched an aggressive lobbying and media campaign to warn that F-35 work being done by Canadian firms would be put in jeopardy if the Canadian government proceeded with such a move.
Government officials have not raised the proposal since, and companies have now been asked to provide the initial data on their aircraft by July 29.----- ----- ----- ----- -----
Lockheed Martin is responding to the Canadian government’s request for information about its fighter jet, a company spokesperson confirmed.
Boeing is responding with information about the Super Hornet.
Other potential contenders include the Eurofighter Typhoon, the Dassault Rafale, and Saab’s Gripen.

If newly-obtained documents are any indication, Canada may become the first country to scrap its order for the American F-35 fighter jet, the most expensive weapons program ever.
Letters sent to the big industry players are just further evidence that the government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is set to pull the trigger on a whole new open competition to pick Canada's next generation of fighter jet.
That competition will likely favour an out-of-the-box jet, over the expensive F-35.
Industry sources confirmed that the government set up meetings with big-name players in the aerospace industry in recent weeks to figure out its next steps in buying a new fighter jet — this, even though it's technically already on the hook to buy 65 of the F-35 Lightning II jets, manufactured by Lockheed Martin.
Those face-to-face meetings took place with representatives from two US companies: Boeing, Lockheed Martin itself; Sweden's Saab; the French Dassault; and the European multinational consortium Eurofighter.
All of them make fighters that, while less advanced than the stealthy F-35, are vastly cheaper.
The meetings follow a 38-page questionnaire, provided to VICE News, which was sent to the five industry players, asking them to lay out the pros and cons of their jets.

​The State Department recently approved a $300 million deal to send T-6C Texans to Argentina to help bolster the training for that country’s air force.
The deal comes shortly after Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James visited South America, where allies there pressed her for easier and faster foreign military sales.

​The State Department recently approved a $300 million deal to send T-6C Texans to Argentina to help bolster the training for that country’s air force.
The deal comes shortly after Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James visited South America, where allies there pressed her for easier and faster foreign military sales.

A 30-day Congressional notification period has closed on a proposed sale of 24 Beechcraft T-6C Texan trainers to the Argentine air force, clearing the way for the US government and industry officials to complete negotiations on the estimated $300 million deal.
Coming only two months after the final delivery to the US Navy under the 20-year-old Joint Primary Aircraft Training Systems (JPATS) programme, the proposed T-6 sale to Buenos Aires offers a timely lifeline to the T-6C production line in Wichita, Kansas.

Two long awaited sales of fighter jets to Kuwait and Qatar continue to be held up by the US government, even as officials acknowledge growing frustration from the partner nations over the delay.
Requests from Qatar and Kuwait for new tranches of US high-end fighters were made almost three years ago, but have been stalled in the US foreign military sales approval process.
It is believed that the sales have been frozen until after the US completes a new military funding agreement with Israel, a process which has dragged on longer than either nation expected.
Qatar is seeking 72 F-15E Strike Eagles, while Kuwait wants 28 F/A-18E/F fighter jets.
Both sales would be a huge boon for Boeing as it searches for ways to keep the St. Louis, Missouri, production facility going.

The Argentine Air Force (Fuerza Aérea Argentina - FAA) is evaluating the Korean Aerospace Industries (KAI) FA-50 Fighting Eagle as a potential new platform, IHS Jane's has learned.
An Argentine delegation visited the Republic of Korea Air Force's (RoKAF's) 16th Fighter Wing at Yecheon on 7 September, according to the Facebook page of one of the FAA pilots who was also photographed taking-off in a TA-50 Golden Eagle operational trainer variant of the FA-50.
No further details were revealed.

The US is set to approve long-pending fighter jet sales to Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait now that a landmark aid deal with Israel has gone through, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee said Wednesday.
“I’m glad they consummated [the aid deal], and I’m glad that the follow on is we’re completing sales to Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait,” said Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn.
“To act like there’s no connection — let’s face it, it’s like the hostages left when the money arrived.”
The question of whether the jet sales – requests from Qatar for 72 F-15E Strike Eagles and Kuwait for 28 F/A-18E/F – have been held up to maintain Israel’s legally-mandated qualitative military edge has been a longstanding one.
Those two nations first requested those potential sales over two years ago.

The US Congress will examine the long-awaited sale of fighter jets to Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain, the last step before a formal notification.
Sources familiar with the deal tell FlightGlobal the informal notification has begun. Qatar has requested 36 Boeing F-15E Strike Eagles, with an option for a total of 72, sources say.
Kuwait has requested 28 Boeing F/A-18 E/F Super Hornets, with an option for a total of 40 aircraft, although Kuwait has also considered a split buy that would include Eurofighter Typhoons.
Bahrain has expressed interest in the Lockheed Martin F-16.

Boeing believes there are several upgrades that can be applied to Tokyo's fleet of F-15J air superiority fighters, which could both extend the type’s service life and greatly enhance its capabilities.
Jim Armington, Boeing’s defence head in Japan, says the airframer has shared ideas about possible F-15 upgrades with Tokyo, but declines to comment on specifics.
“The JASDF [Japan Air Self-Defence Force] is looking at missions, and the F-15 has a lot of potential,” he says.
Armington does, however, confirm that there are many hours left on Tokyo’s airframes, and that with the technology available today, its F-15J fleet could “leapfrog” technologies now present in the market.
“There are a lot of options,” says Armington, a former F-15 pilot.
“These include AESA [active electronically scanned array] radars, a new mission computer, a new electronic warfare suite, conformal fuel tanks, and additional missiles.”

The Argentine Air Force (Fuerza Aérea Argentina - FAA) has evaluated the Alenia Aermacchi M-346 Master advanced jet trainer and light fighter as a potential new front-line platform.
FAA pilots flew the aircraft in Italy on 12 and 13 October, the Italian Ministry of Defence (MoD) disclosed on 19 October.
The FAA delegation was hosted by the Italian Air Force's (Aeronautica Militare Italiana - AMI) 61° Stormo (Wing) at Lecce.
In an article posted on its website, the Italian MoD noted that the FAA was especially interested in testing the M-346's air-to-air and air-to-surface capabilities.
Although billed primarily as a jet trainer platform, the M-346 does have a secondary offensive capability.

Turkey’s top defense procurement panel has agreed to officially order a second batch of F-35 Lightning II fifth-generation multirole fighter aircraft under the multinational Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program.
Friday's meeting of the Defense Industry Executive Committee (SSIK in its Turkish acronym) brought together Prime Minister Binali Yildirim, Defence Minister Fikri Isik and Army Gen. Hulusi Akar, chief of the General Staff. SSIK is Turkey’s top authority in procurement matters.
Under the JSF program, Turkey has committed to procure a total of 116 aircraft.
Turkey placed its first JSF order in 2014 under its low-rate initial production 10 program.

Michael Rubin, a former Pentagon official and now resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, also draws parallels to US sales to Iran.
In 2010, Rubin warned a Congressional foreign affairs committee of the critical transfer of F-35 technology to Turkey, which had already begun a change in domestic and foreign policy.
Unlike the overthrow of the Shah in Iran, Turkey’s government appears to be transforming from within, Rubin says.
“The government we’re dealing with now may not be the government down the pike, even if it’s the same people,” Rubin says.
“It shows how mercurial Erdogan is. He’s gone from hating to Putin, to being his best friend in a couple months.”

​Turkey wants to receive its first F-35s sooner than planned.
Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said Monday his country is set to receive its first two F-35s in 2018 rather than 2021, IHS Jane’s 360 reported.

Indonesia has outlined a need for up to 200 new fighters over the next 15 years to meet its minimum force ambitions.
Most pressing is the need to replace 14 Squadron’s elderly Northrop F-5E/Fs, and funding has been allocated for that in the current (2015-2019) five-year spending plan.
Although selection of the Sukhoi Su-35 has been “announced,” no contract has been signed, and Western manufacturers have good reason to believe that it is still an open competition.

For the second element in the FCAS system-of-systems, there is currently no fifth-generation Program of Record for the EdAE.
However, it is highly likely that the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) will form the basis of this particular element.
Interestingly, the official noted that with the Spanish Navy looking to retire its carrier-borne McDonnell-Douglas AV-8B Harrier II in the not-too-distant future, any fifth-generation requirement would be a joint affair between the services.

The State Department approved two potential high-profile fighter jet sales of up to 40 F/A-18E/F Super Hornets to Kuwait and 72 F-15QA planes to Qatar.
The sale would be a major coup for Boeing, which manufactures both planes and has banked on foreign sales to extend the life of its fighter jet lines into the 2020s.

Canada will explore an interim buy of 18 Super Hornet fighter jets from Boeing, a blow to Lockheed Martin that kicks a final decision on whether to procure the F-35 further down the road.
"Canada will immediately explore the acquisition of 18 new Super Hornet aircraft to supplement the CF-18s until the permanent replacement arrives," the Canadian government announced in a release (*).
"Canada's current fleet is now more than 30 years old and is down from 138 aircraft to 77. As a result, the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) faces a capability gap."